Sunday’s World Crown at Peach State Speedway in Jefferson will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the greatest come from behind victories in the event’s storied 25-year history.

After losing a lap a quarter of the way through the 200 lap event, Russell Fleeman charged back, using the cunning and skill of a veteran driver, and won the crown, the trophy and the check that had eluded him in several tries over the years.

“We’ve been trying to win the World Crown for five or six years, and it seems like we’d either do good or have bad luck,” Fleeman said after the victory. “We tested here earlier in the year and got a game plan.”

That plan didn’t involve fighting back from the flat tire, but probably did anticipate having to hold off a hard charging Taylor Satterfield and defending winner Paul Kelley at the end.

“I knew I had to get as close to the front as I could, but I didn’t want to use my tires up,” Fleeman said. “When I finally got out in the lead, I knew I had to pace myself.”

For Satterfield, of Commerce, the runner-up spot was a good showing on his home town track.

Commerce's Taylor Satterfield (40) leads Russell Fleeman (98) early in the event. Satterfield would finish second at the end of the day. Photo by Lyn Sengupta

“Everything worked out good,” he said. “Lap traffic kind of got in the way, but we saved the tires as best we could and tried to keep the pace. Maybe we waited too long, because we were closing in on him there towards the end.”

With 38 cars starting the race, it was the largest field for the World Crown since 1984. Pole sitter Brandon Johnson led the field to the green flag, and stayed on point through the first 11 laps.

The caution flag flew twice during that time, first when a flat tire sent Richard Johns spinning in the third turn, and the second when Senoia driver Bubba Pollard stopped on the back stretch after experiencing a mechanical issue.

Race officials docked Pollard a lap for intentionally bringing out the caution.

Back under green, Kelley passed Johnson on lap 12 to take the lead, and would hold the top spot until the halfway break at lap 100.

Meanwhile, Satterfield, former Jefferson native Ryan Crane and Fleeman worked their way into the top five, and were fighting for position when Fleeman slowed suddenly on lap 53, the victim of a cut tire.

He rushed to the pits, where his crew quickly made repairs and sent him back out. Fleeman lost a lap to the leader in the process.

As Fleeman roared out of the pits, Pollard made his way around Kelley to get back on the lead lap. A spin by Jimmy Weller brought out the caution again, allowing Pollard to rejoin the race at the back of the field.

Pendergrass driver Paul Kelley heads for pit road to repair damage to his car in the later stages of Sunday’s World Crown. Kelley would return to finish third. Photo by Brandon Reed

The caution was a blessing for Fleeman, who now had the chance to restart alongside the leader, and on lap 69, he moved around Kelley to get back on the lead lap. When Commerce’s Dennis Wilder spun on the backstretch on lap 81, Fleeman was able to rejoin the field on the lead lap.

Kelley held the lead to the halfway point, where the race was halted for a five minute break to allow teams to work on their cars.

When the green flew again, Pollard, who had worked his way back up into the top five, apparently experienced transmission trouble, and stopped again on the front stretch to bring out a caution.

Pollard was again penalized one lap by race officials, but would make up that lap again later on in the race.

Kelley, meanwhile, came under immediate attack from Johnson, and gave up the lead on lap 107. Fifteen laps later, it appeared that Kelley struck a piece of debris on the track, and the entire left side body work on his car flew up, flapping as he went by.

A caution two laps later gave the three time World Crown champ a chance to come in and make repairs. He restarted at the back of the field.

Meanwhile, Fleeman worked his way back into contention moving into the second spot. On lap 157, Fleeman ducked low out of the fourth turn, and took the top spot away, and would never give it back.

Flagman Waylan Nicholson waves the checkered flag over Russell Fleeman at the finish of the 2008 World Crown. Photo by Lyn Sengupta

As Fleeman moved away for his first World Crown win, Satterfield moved to second, and Kelley roared back through the field to third. But neither could catch Fleeman, who motored to victory lane.

The talent he had beaten wasn’t lost on Fleeman after the race.

“There’s some good talent and drivers coming up through here,” he said. “It just makes me feel good that I’m still able to drive, and thankfull for everyone who helps me.

“We’re looking forward to next year and winning some more races.”

Johnson would hold on for fourth, while Crane finished fifth. David Hole, Randy Porter, Kyle Fowler, Max Gresham and Pollard rounded out the top ten.

E-Mail addresses will not be displayed and will only be used for E-Mail notifications.

To prevent automated Bots from commentspamming, please enter the string you see in the image below in the appropriate input box. Your comment will only be submitted if the strings match. Please ensure that your browser supports and accepts cookies, or your comment cannot be verified correctly.Enter the string from the spam-prevention image above:

Phone*

What is eight minus five?

Remember Information? Subscribe to this entry

Submitted comments will be subject to moderation before being displayed.